Chasing Two Rabbits at Once: Education for Children in Cameroon

When

Monday December 2, 2019: 7:00pm to 8:30pm  Add to Calendar /   Add to Google Calendar

Where

Westgate Branch: West Side Room

Description

Ann Arbor native Sarah Strader describes 10 years of firsthand experience living and working with the Baka, an indigenous hunter-gatherer group in Cameroon in West Africa. Learn about hunter-gatherer societies in the 21st century, and efforts to help Baka children “chase two rabbits at once” - learn survival in the forest, and receive formal schooling - and how marginalized communities can drive solutions to the challenges they face. The presentation will touch on child development, anthropology, and social justice.

The identity of the Baka is deeply tied to a disappearing forest. They are masters of their forest home, knowing the medicinal, spiritual, and nutritional value of its plants, animals, and waters. But their home is under threat by logging, poaching, mining, and even conservation activities. Marginalized by society, and excluded from formal schooling for generations, they lack literacy and language skills to defend their rights. 

Photos, video, artifacts, and items used in everyday life will be on display.